Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

132 reviews

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I think I've found a new author to bingeread!
I read this book with very little knowledge of what I was getting into beyond "people who eat books" and that made every layer of context a wonderful discovery! I loved the ominous oppressive atmosphere, the literary references, the nonlinear timeline, the nuanced internal conflicts given the external circumstances.  This book is fantastic for the story itself, and on top of that provided some much needed representation.

I think what keeps this from being a 5-star for me is that it is not invested in a lot of world-building. I don't think that hurts this story necessarily but I generally prefer books with more intrigue and complex details. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Death, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

francestea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The premise is totally cool, though if you feel weird about the first 50 pages (I did) try sticking with it a little longer! After I settle into the story the remaining 250 pages went by in a flash.
This book is very unique, the writing is compelling and the story is truly new! It feels both dystopian and historical, patriarchal sci-fi/fantasy and feminist fairytale retelling.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

macaronoui's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

anastasiamakes's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A story of motherly love, and the lengths one will go to to protect her child in a world pitted against them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Slavery, and Vomit

caitmacd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexism, Pregnancy, Infertility, Body horror, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Cannibalism

daffodilcherry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A book about monsterous love and burning down the whole damn system. It took me until about a quarter of the way through the book to really get hooked, and then I devoured the rest of the book. I loved the development of Devon & Cai's relationship, their gradual understanding. I especially loved the worldbuilding of the 'eaters, and the different relationships between the cast.
Wheelhouse items: monsterous love, mother-child relationship, secret society, immersive worldbuilding, butch lesbians, chaos lesbians, burning the whole system down, fairytale subversion. 
Content warning explanations:

Devon is coerced into relationships with older men for conception of children, one of which is outwardly physically violent towards her.
 Theme of forceful separation between mother & child is very prevalent.
The eaters either eat books or people's minds, many scenes showing mind eating done by the child character, including that of a baby. 
One of the 'eater families trafficks humans to work for them.
One of the villanous characters has religious delusions about mind eating.</Spoiler>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Trafficking

Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia

sequelmage's review against another edition

The writing was decent and very good for a debut novel. I think what really bugged me was the constant flashbacks.  

I don’t mind flashbacks, but this was happening every other chapter and it just took me out the story that was happening in the present. 

I also just didn’t care much for the characters and wasn’t really invested. That may have changed if the constant flashbacks didn’t take up such a significant portion of the book. 

I’d also warn that the book has a lot of misogyny in it and includes things like forced childbirth. I think a theme is overcoming that, but it is there and pretty graphic. I wasn’t really in the mood so that was another reason I stopped reading 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy and Gun violence

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Misogyny

Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Vomit

gabbimay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Confinement, Gore, and Misogyny

the_tridentarii's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Addiction, and Alcoholism